Hey kids....bullying is bad.

OTTAWA — The gunman who entered a Quebec elementary school northeast of Ottawa and threatened to kill everyone last April was carrying a sawed-off .22 rifle, 100 rounds of ammunition and a hunting knife.

A court heard Monday how Rock Dagenais, now 26, told teachers at Ecole Saint-Laurent in Buckingham, Que., that he didn't mind shooting children, and would kill everyone if they called police.

Now Dagenais has finally given his reason: He wanted to tell the children that bullying is wrong.

He has pleaded guilty to weapons charges and forcible confinement, but Monday he claimed at his sentencing hearing that there was never any danger.

Dagenais described for the court a long history of depression and trouble fitting in. At the time of the crime he was living in his aunt's basement and had given up on school where he was learning to be a butcher.

He described for the court a mental flashback on that April 19: Suddenly he was remembering his parents' divorce, which happened when he was in elementary school, and the years of bullying that followed.

"I didn't accept my parents' divorce," he said, crying. He said other children waited for him after school to beat him up. He also said his stepfather sexually assaulted him later.

Suddenly he got the idea of going to a school and telling children that they should respect others and not bully them.

He had legally bought a rifle — his first gun — four days earlier.

He wanted to hunt bears, he said, but the man who ran the gun store in Masson told him it was too small a gun. He still intended to hunt something, but testified Monday he couldn't recall the name of the animal. It wasn't a lynx, he said.

He sawed off both ends of the rifle, intending to hide it in his coat. He had to cut it down twice to make it short enough.

He made a system of strings to suspend the gun inside his coat, stuffed two boxes of 50 bullets each into his jeans and stuck a hunting knife in his sock. Then he got on his bike and rode to the Buckingham school, about 15 minutes from his home.

The gun was "a kind of pass" to gain entry to the school, he said. He insisted over and over he never intended to hurt anyone else with it, but was probably going to commit suicide after talking to the students.

He brought the knife to cut his throat in case he failed to kill himself with the gun, he said.

Defence lawyer Daniel Cyr asked why he needed 100 bullets and he replied, "I have no idea."

He had no previous connection with this school, but said he chose it at random.

Dagenais buzzed at the locked door and told secretary Rachel Pilon he wanted to register a child for school. She said he looked ordinary, apart from being out of breath from cycling, and had nothing in his hands. But once inside, he showed her the gun and demanded access to a class in Grade 4, 5 or 6. These children, he explained Monday, would be old enough to understand his message.

They went upstairs where he went into a Grade 2 classroom, still asking to see older students. He ran into other women on the school staff and they kept him talking while one called 911 on her cellphone.

Gatineau, Que., police arrived and jumped on Dagenais as he tried unsuccessfully to draw his gun. He testified he just wanted to kill himself but not hurt anyone else.

Dagenais recalled how an officer asked him whether he realized he had just "traumatized the children for life."

"Yes, 100 per cent," he replied. "And not just the children."

He and other witnesses agree he never pointed the gun at anyone. It was loaded but did not have a round in the chamber.

While insisting that there was "perfect safety" in his actions, he broke down and told several teachers in the court, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for the wrong I've done. I don't know what else to say."

Crown prosecutor Sylvain Petitclair, however, told the court that "the danger was there."

He noted that Dagenais had shown no emotion when five woman on staff gave victim impact statements describing lasting psychological harm: nightmares, fear of public places, depression, lack of energy, inability to concentrate, and, for most, an inability to return to work.

Caroline Gagnon had to barricade her classroom door to protect her own students, while her own seven-year-old son was in the class across the hall with Dagenais.

"I felt weak and guilty for abandoning my son," she wrote in a victim impact statement read in court.

During the lockdown, Gagnon's students huddled on the floor of the classroom. Some cried, some held hands, and at least one had wet pants.

Twice someone rattled her door handle from the outside in the hallway, but she could not see what was happening or hear any news for a full hour as police arrested Dagenais and then searched for other gunmen. Dagenais had said there were others with him, but there were none.

She said she still has nightmares, guilt, fear of public places and feels nervous and irritable, like others who were at the school that day.

Josee Pilotte, 47, was the first teacher to meet Dagenais on the school's top floor. She talked to him, but eventually decided to leave and search for help.

She too is still afraid and has violent nightmares and trouble sleeping, and told the court she feels ashamed because she has not been able to return to school this fall.

She attended Ecole Saint Laurent as a child, but now takes long detours to avoid going near it.

She turned in the witness stand to look straight at Dagenais and said: "It's to regain control of my life that I'm here now to testify."

Another staff member, who called 911 on her cellphone from her classroom and relayed information to the dispatcher for a full half-hour, said she was "terrorized" by the incident.

In her written submission, Genevieve Rene aimed a question at Dagenais: "Do you know how many people are afraid now because of you?"

Many members of the school staff were in court Monday for the hearing. They held hands and cried through much of the testimony, which included a replay of the 911 call that day.

All said that one of the hardest parts of the ordeal was being asked by people in the community about what had happened in the school that day. Some have been staying at home to avoid questions.

Court heard the Dagenais bought the .22-calibre rifle in Masson and had the necessary permit. He had no prior criminal record and passed the RCMP clearance procedure for buying a weapon. Dagenais has been in custody since his arrest, and spent 12 days in hospital where psychological testing found him able to understand the difference between right and wrong, but impulsive and suicidal.

At the police station after his arrest, detectives asked Dagenais whether he wanted a lawyer, Yes, he told them, "because I'm neck-deep in s--t."

Judge Real Lapointe will impose a sentence in December. The defence has suggested a three-year sentence — the minimum under the law —and the Crown asked for six to seven years.